Firsthand Capital Management Inc. Sells 9,435 Shares of Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI)

Firsthand Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in Itron, Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) by 67.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,565 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 9,435 shares during the quarter. Itron accounts for approximately 1.0% of Firsthand Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Firsthand Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Itron were worth $488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ITRI. PDT Partners LLC grew its holdings in Itron by 348.0% in the third quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 37,704 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $4,027,000 after purchasing an additional 29,288 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Itron in the 3rd quarter valued at about $215,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Itron in the 3rd quarter valued at about $288,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Itron by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 187,219 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $19,997,000 after buying an additional 16,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Itron during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $448,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ITRI. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Itron in a report on Monday, August 5th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Itron from $125.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Itron from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Itron from $110.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Itron in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $133.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Itron has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Itron news, CEO Thomas Deitrich sold 37,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.83, for a total transaction of $3,931,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 205,276 shares in the company, valued at $21,519,083.08. This trade represents a 15.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Itron Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Itron stock opened at $118.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of 24.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.46. Itron, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.81 and a 1 year high of $124.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 3.36 and a quick ratio of 2.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $110.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.40.

Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $615.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $596.41 million. Itron had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Itron, Inc. will post 5.33 EPS for the current year.

Itron Company Profile

Itron, Inc, a technology, solutions, and service company, provides end-to-end solutions that help manage energy, water, and smart city operations worldwide. It operates in three segments: Device Solutions, Networked Solutions, and Outcomes. The Device Solutions segment offers hardware products that are used for measurement, control, or sensing, such as standard gas, electricity, water, and communicating meters, as well as heat and allocation products.